Friday, February 27, 2026

was Trump the one who asked this shayla to R' Dov Lando?

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Question: is an aku"m allowed to kill another aku"m who is an Amaleiki?  
Thursday, February 26, 2026

bigdei kehunah - kedushas damim or kedushas ha'guf; the price for enjoyment of an aveira

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The gemara (Meg 12) tells us that Achashveirosh threw the grand party described at the opening of the megillah because he thought the 70 yea...
Thursday, February 19, 2026

making the aron

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The gemara (Yoma 3b) presents a stira in pesukim with regards to who was supposed to make the aron: אַבָּא חָנָן אָמַר מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי אֶלְ...
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Thursday, February 12, 2026

Adar, Binyamin, and v'na'hapoch hu

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The Shabbos, Shabbos mevorchim chodesh Adar, is the yahrzeit for my father a"h. The Tur writes in hil rosh chodesh that each one of th...
Thursday, February 05, 2026

thoughtful clip from Rav Tamir Granot and Rav Ouri Cherki on dati leumi vs hareidi world view

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  I have always found Rav Tamir Granot and Rav Ouri Cherki to be thoughtful, interesting speakers, and wanted to pass on this clip, which I ...

we don't want a second hand account -- we want to hear it directly

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וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה וַיִּקְרָא לְזִקְנֵי הָעָם וַיָּשֶׂם לִפְנֵיהֶם אֵת כׇּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר צִוָּהוּ ה׳ וַיַּעֲנוּ כׇל הָעָם יַחְדָּ...
Thursday, January 29, 2026

public life vs private life

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The meforshim are bothered by the contradictory reactions of Bn"Y when they discovered the Egyptian army in pursuit.  On the one hand, ...
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Friday, January 23, 2026

the chronology of the makkos and the mitzvah of kiddush ha'chodesh

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Apologies for writing a bit b'kitzur this week. The challenge of figuring out the chronology of the makkos is getting three facts to fit...
Thursday, January 15, 2026

a question that need not be answered

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Last week's parsha ended with Moshe questioning Hashem: לָמָה הֲרֵעֹתָה לָעָם הַזֶּה לָמָּה זֶּה שְׁלַחְתָּנִי. Why, wondered Moshe, di...
Thursday, January 08, 2026

geulah delayed is geulah denied

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Hashem told Moshe that if the people ask him what G-d's name is, he should reply (3:14): וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹקים אֶל מֹשֶׁה אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶ...
Wednesday, December 31, 2025

bris k'rusa li'sefasayim -- words shape reality

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וְעַתָּ֗ה אֶֽעֱלֶה־נָּ֛א וְאֶקְבְּרָ֥ה אֶת־אָבִ֖י וְאָשֽׁוּבָה׃... (50:5)  Why stick in the extra word וְעַתָּ֗ה?  We have a concept of ...
Wednesday, December 24, 2025

is there an ethical taint to chochma achieved through the motivation of kinas sofrim? Chazon Ish vs Rav Kook

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 (45:22):לְ כֻלָּ֥ם נָתַ֛ן לָאִ֖ישׁ חֲלִפ֣וֹת שְׂמָלֹ֑ת וּלְבִנְיָמִ֤ן נָתַן֙ שְׁלֹ֣שׁ מֵא֣וֹת כֶּ֔סֶף וְחָמֵ֖שׁ חֲלִפֹ֥ת שְׂמָלֹֽת  The gem...
2 comments:
Monday, December 22, 2025

rosh chodesh Teives / Chanukah -- 1 chiyuv to say full hallel, or 2 independent chiyuvim, full hallel + chatzi hallel

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When we daven b'tzibur the custom is for the chazan to say out loud the last sentence or two of each section of hallel, similar to other...
4 comments:
Thursday, December 18, 2025

the Divrei Chaim's practice of preparing the menorah before havdalah

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In the Mishnas Sachir on the Moadim, Rav Teichtel writes that he found in a sefer that quotes the practices of the Sanzer Rav, the Divrei C...

hadlakas menorah as a kiyum of binyan mikdash

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The Ramban famously asks why the torah puts the parsha of hadlakas ha'menorah after the gifts of the nesiim for the chanukas ha'mish...
Thursday, December 11, 2025

attention to the little things and the little people is the key to greatness

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At the end of the parsha we have the story of Yosef's interpretation of the dreams of the Sar haMashkim and the Sar ha'Ofim, but bef...

kesones pasim and distinctive dress

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וַיָּבֹא יַעֲקֹב שָׁלֵם after leaving Lavan's home is interpreted by Chasam Sofer as an acronym for שׁם, לשׁון, מלבּושׁ. Yaakov preserved h...
Wednesday, December 03, 2025

tefilah makes a world of difference

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Rashi writes that Yaakov prepared for his meeting with Eisav in three ways, התקין עצמו לג׳ דברים: לדורון, למלחמה, לתפילה.  Ramban mentions ...
Wednesday, November 26, 2025

hiding right under Eisav's nose

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Rashi in last week's parsha quotes the gemara in Meg 17a that Yaakov spent 14 years in yeshivat Shemv'Eiver before heading to Lavan...